It’s another tired day here in the CatBox, but I have enough gas in the tank for a full post today. Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update, as it’s a WWWendy day, and we are having our Thanksgiving dinner. It’s also a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are praying the Saints, but it won’t be televised here. I hope you are having a fine holiday weekend, even if it isn’t a holiday for you.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From Crooks and Liars: Now, as states across the country contemplate new lockdowns to slow down the rampant spread and record hospitalizations, the unprecedented demand for food aid is on the rise, according to the Guardian’s latest snapshot survey:
- In Cleveland, 5,000 families showed up last Thursday for the pre-Thanksgiving drive-in distribution compared with 3,300 a week earlier and an average of 1,600 over the summer. Some 54% of the food distributed was for children and seniors. “We’re now seeing families who had an emergency fund but it’s gone and they’re at the end of their rope. We’re going to be doing this for a really long time, and that’s frankly terrifying given the impact hunger has on physical health, learning and development for children and parents’ stress,” said Kristin Warzocha, president of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
- One woman in Cleveland, who didn’t want to be identified, discharged herself from the hospital against medical advice so that she didn’t miss the Thanksgiving food box delivery. “That’s the depth of need and desperation some families are feeling,” added Warzocha.
Not surprisingly, the Trump administration is making a bad situation worse, The Guardian reports. Instead of boosting Snap benefits (food stamps), it cut eligibility. The USDA’s Farmers to Families program expires at the end of the year, as does a $450 million boost to the Emergency Food Assistance Program. “Without government assistance, ‘we’re headed toward a massive cliff come January,’ said Erin Pulling, CEO of the Food Bank for the Rockies which serves Colorado and Wyoming.”
Barf Bag Alert!!
This will not change when Trump* is gone. How many years have you seen me say, “Every penny Democrats spend to feed hungry families is a penny Republicans can’t give to a billionaire.”? RESIST!!
From NY Times: Iran’s top nuclear scientist, long identified by American and Israeli intelligence as the guiding figure behind a covert effort to design an atomic warhead, was shot and killed Friday in what the Iranian media called a roadside ambush as he and his bodyguards traveled outside Tehran.
For two decades, the scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was the driving force behind what American and Israeli officials describe as Iran’s secretive nuclear weapons program. His work continued after Iran’s push to develop a bomb was formally disbanded in 2003, according to American intelligence assessments and Iranian nuclear documents stolen by Israel nearly three years ago.
One American official — along with two other intelligence officials — said that Israel was behind the attack on the scientist. It was unclear how much the United States may have known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran, which Israel considers its most potent threat.
There are three possibilities. Butcher Bibi, criminal Fuhrer Trump* or both in unison. I pick door number three. RESIST!!
From Alternet: A new viral video released by “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” on Friday offers an in-depth look into President Donald Trump’s ongoing refusal to condemn white supremacy.
According to the three-minute YouTube video’s description, it aims to highlight Trump’s “cozy relationship with supremacists.” The video, which garnered more than 700,000 views in less than 24 hours, notes Trump’s repeated attacks on nearly everyone under the sun.
Roy Wood Jr., a correspondent for the Noah’s show, provided the commentary for the video. During the video, he noted that Trump has often been “famous for being quick with an insult,” reports the Huffington Post. From lawmakers , state, and local officials, to Democratic voters, Trump has so easily insulted tons of people—except white supremacists.
When Trump was elected, racists rejoiced. White supremacists rallied around him holding rallies and blatantly making their racial bias known. On multiple occasions, Trump has retweeted white genocide posts on social media and subtly defended the actions of white supremacists.
This will not change when Trump* is gone. Trump* did not choose the Republican Reich. The Republican Reich chose Trump*, because he represents them. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast for the planet): Paradise
John Prine was a man who loved this planet. Sadly his fight is over. Seven months ago, Trump* and the Republican Reich murdered him with Trump* virus. RESIST!!
52 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!
11 Responses to “Open Thread – 11/28/2020”
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Good to see you going strong – Enjoy tomorrow (WWWendy too.)
I just had the random thought that, if January 6th (Epiphany) is “Twelfth Night” (the twelfth day fater Christmas) – then, from Christmas to the January 5th Georgia runoff must be exactly one scaramucci.
A long article in Daily Kos, but contains so much unpublished information obtained from investigation that it’s quite important.
Cartoon – Good grief.
C&L – And who didn’t see this coming? I include Republicans in that, though they saw it with glee, while we saw it with fear and sadness. (Please try not to barf over Judy. It’s bad enough without wasting food.)
NYT – I would also pick door #3 – except that it hasn’t had enough publicity to stroke Trump*s ego if he were involved, and he hasn’t claimed credit. I’ll go with Door #1.
AlterNet – No, this is a continuing and serious problem. And it will not go away without work – lots and lots of work. And even then it’s not guaranteed not to come back. Germany did good work to discredit “Aryan superiority”, and yet there are now, still, or again or both, Germans who are into it.
Blast – Yes. A very sad loss.
Cartoon: It’s poison! Don’t eat it!!
C&L: dt is so cruel. How depressing and sad. Any little bit, to help our neighbors with giving food to these families. All over this land.
AN: He supports them, (after seeing/hearing him deny them..gently), and lies about liking them. After all, it’s been his forte all along.
BFTP: Good song.
Hi WWWendy! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! and TC of course! I’m still full from yesterday, (when the family celebrated). We got rain, finally! Now..it’s cold, and wet. lol Hope that you have a relaxing day, take good care, and Thanks, Tom. We play Indianapolis next week.
*This just in: “All health care professionals on the front line need their student loans forgiven. They have paid their debt to society in this pandemic.” ~ Society L. ~
2. “The whole Republican party must be held accountable for their lack of concern for the people of this country, and their reluctance to live up to their oath of office.” ~ John R. ~
3. “Everything dt knows about politics (and it’s not much), he learned from dictators. ~ Natalie F. ~
4. “After January 20th 2021, trump will just be another crack pot on the Internet.” ~ Jim Acosta ~
5. “Ill always remember the day, when donald trump sat at child’s desk on Thanksgiving and yelled, “Don’t talk to me that way, I’m the President of the United States!!, at a reporter.” ~ Bill P. ~
TJI #2 – Agreed. But what are are means?
TJI #4 – It was crOckpots, not crAckpots, I said I was thankful for.
TJI #5 – I guess I didn’t realize how important it is for a journalist to be able to spuuress laughter.
Joann, are you ok?
I’m fine. I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your server.
TC, you just keep on truckin’!
‘Toon: UUGGHH! that’s one way to loose weight, loose one’s appetite.
C&L: Just what “Strongmen” tend to do when stressed, kill their own! Now, it seems that it is more purposeful, as opposed to simple incompetence.
NYT: I pick with you, TC. Is the timing suspect, regarding Dumpy’s coming exit and, I’ll guess a need to go out with his own nuclear bang? Remember, early in his admin., when he told the military “If we have nuclear weapons, why don’t we use them.?”
Alternet: “This will not change when Trump* is gone. Trump* did not choose the Republican Reich. The Republican Reich chose Trump*, because he represents them. RESIST!!” Exactly. They, as a party, have been racist since the day Lincoln was shot.
BTP: Nice!
With everything going on in your body, tired must be your default state by now, TomCat. I have the greatest admiration for how you keep yourself and the site going. With the improvement of your ability to eat, I hope you’ll be able to keep going a long time yet.
3:08 It’s yours, be gentle and don’t play with it as my Molly does with her mice.
Cartoon: A dried-out turtle sandwich, how horrible.
C&L: Soon large parts of the US will become indistinguishable from North Korea: a cult leader telling his followers all is well while in reality people are starving or dying of a preventable disease. The leader may change soon and for the better, the reality not.
NYT: Israel and the US got away with killing Iranian General Suleimani, so they’ll continue to kill anyone perceived as a threat to them as long they have the opportunity to do so. After also successfully eliminating nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh, they’ll now use the whole of December to eliminate anyone else on Israel’s wish list.
Alternet: Excellent video by Roy Wood/Trevor Noah. However, as you pointed out, TomCat, it is only half of the story. The other half is that Trump is only the mouthpiece of White Supremacists (he’s not even their leader) who have used him to crawl from under their stones and grow strong again. As soon as Trump is gone, they’ll find someone else in the GOP to endorse them.
BFTP: I’ve never heard of John Prine; one of the many casualties of Trump’s mismanagement of the epidemic.
The new “someone else in the GOP” won’t, I presume, be Steve King. He lost his seat in Congress. To another Republican, yes, but he did lose.
Cartoon: Double yuck. I’ll pass.
C&L: Scary and so sad. Covie-19 is like an endless fire, keeps spreading with no sign of relief what so ever. Who’d ever think this rotten bas*ard could go even lower??? Truly despicable.
AN: Agree with you and Lona’s comment.
BFTP: Sad that he died. Nice song.
Hope you got some rest today.
Have a nice day with Wendy tomorrow. Tell her “hi”.
Take care. Thanks TomCat
Thanks TC. I thank you also for helping all your readers understand that so many chronic conditions mean good days, bad days and sometimes inbetween days affecting what one’s body lets one do.Sometimes our nation gets horrified by pictures of starving, skeletal children. Is that what it will take for our GOP to leave their bubble limiting what they see to partisan priorities? I give thanks my county food bank and local food closet succeeded in reopening by late summer/early fall–and that a sister county’s food bank helped with our ecumenical free nightly dinner program. And with those cuts comes more decisions to buy food instead of pay the rent fueling evictions and homelessness with the CDC’s moratorium proving unenforceable and expiring soon, too, and not that many states doing their own program, laws to replace it.
DT has chosen tweet language suggesting he was at least in the know on the murder, yet given his propensity for claiming credit for things others did I’m not as sure he was involved in the plan in advance as you are.
Trevor Noah has produced a lot of pieces since spring revealing our racism, which is not limited to the GOP, and providing a mirror for us to own our own racism as the first step towards national healing. This was another worthy effort.
John Prine is also often mentioned as inspiring other musicians. RIP
Thanks and Holiday Hurry Hugs to all!